


A Missing Heart to Heart

by Sehin



Series: November 2020 One-Shots [20]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon Compliant, Failed Third Hokage, Family Can Be A Choice, Ghosts, Kakashi feels he is cursed, Mentioned Aburame Shino, Mentioned Akimichi Choji, Mentioned Haruno Sakura, Mentioned Nara Shikamaru - Freeform, Mentioned Nohara Rin - Freeform, Mentioned Third Hokage, Mentioned Uchiha Mikoto, Mentioned Uchiha Obito - Freeform, Mentioned Uchiha Sasuke - Freeform, Mentioned Umino Iruka - Freeform, Mentioned Yamanaka Ino - Freeform, Not Beta Read, family is not always blood, missing conversation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:40:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27641549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sehin/pseuds/Sehin
Summary: The night on their way to the Land of Iron, Kakashi and Naruto talk about the recent revelation of the later's father's identity. Kakashi reveals why he didn't do anything for Naruto over the years and how unfit he is as anything but a shinobi.*A missing scene from the manga. Face it, we missed it.Oh and Yamato is asleep the entire time.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Namikaze Minato, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Kushina, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi & Yamato | Tenzou
Series: November 2020 One-Shots [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994803
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	A Missing Heart to Heart

It was the night after leaving Konoha to travel to the Land of Iron and intercept the Raikage. Kakashi, Naruto and Yamato had stopped for a few hours of rest and had set up a small campfire. Yamato slept while Kakashi kept watch, Naruto was still awake though, tired but his head was racing.

"Kakashi-sensei?" the blond teen called out softly.

"Yes, Naruto?" Kakashi replied to his student.

"You were trained by the Fourth Hokage," Naruto said, though he looked down. "And the Fourth is my dad."

The silver-haired jounin nodded but said nothing. He knew where this was going.

"So that means you knew the entire time who my parents were," the genin went on. "And yet you never tried to look after me."

Kakashi sighed. "I was fourteen, Naruto. Younger then you are now."

Naruto looked up, his visible blue eye steel-like. "But it would've been better than what I got."

"No, Naruto, it wouldn't," the older man replied. "I've told you about what happened to my team right?"

The boy nodded. "Obito-kun sacrificed himself to save you and gave you the sharingan," he replied. "And Rin was later killed by enemy shinobi."

Kakashi nodded again, though he never mentioned that his female teammate had actually died at his own hands. "So I wasn't exactly in the best mind when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha," he continued. "And that's when I lost Minato-sensei and his wife, your mother. Losing everyone in a space of year, plus being an orphan since a little boy, what makes you think I could've looked after an infant?"

Naruto paused for a moment, obviously trying to think about it, then he breathed out and sighed. "But leaving me to the Old Man, who didn't do much and left me on my own when I wasn't even eight yet. I think having you with me would've been better."

The older man sighed. "Naruto, the Third Hokage was dealing with a lot of things. After what happened to Neji's father and tensions with the Uchiha," he said. "Not to mention one of his sons disappearing, the Council competing against him, Orochimaru..." he paused, remembering the night the snake sannin had fled and the rotten feeling coming off the insane man. "You could forgive him for trying to make sure you could look after yourself as quickly as he could."

Naruto smiled softly. "Yeah, I guess. But still, maybe a lot of problems I had as a kid would've been downplayed."

Kakashi chuckled. "You may have gotten death glares and occasional foul taunts, but did you ever get beaten or suffer assassination attempts like Gaara?"

The blond genin shook his head. "No, I didn't. I'm still surprised because I could almost feel them wanting to do it."

"You had a lot of people protecting you, Naruto," Kakashi said. "I was still part of the ANBU and Minato-sensei had a few supporters who knew who you were and protected you. Not to mention the Uchiha, the Nara and several others who knew your mother."

Naruto's visible eyebrow rose. "Sasuke's family was protecting me?"

Kakashi nodded. "Your mother was best friends with his mother. I remember hearing them hoping you'd be friends had she lived. Even though the Uchiha were largely isolated, Mikoto-san made sure you were at least safe. Her only regret was being forbidden from taking you in."

Naruto's smile returned, a little bigger. "Then maybe I could've helped Sasuke from his path earlier."

Kakashi sighed. "Sasuke's path is just as much my failure, Naruto. I'm not a very good teacher and I never was," he closed his eyes, remembering the arguments he'd had and failed to convince Sarutobi-sama that just because he was a jounin and a prodigy didn't make him an instructor. "I'm a shinobi and that's all I can be. That's why I haven't gotten a romantic partner nor tried to do more for you, Sasuke and Sakura."

The boy gave a small laugh. "You were just as much learning as we were, Kakashi-sensei. We don't always succeed."

Kakashi stood and came next to the boy, bringing his arm around the smaller's shoulders and pulling him close. "If your parents had been alive, Naruto, I would've been happy to be your older brother. In a way, despite how distant I was from you, I feel like we are brothers."

The boy shook in a small chuckle. "I guess so, sensei. You wouldn't have made a good dad for me, unlike Iruka-sensei."

The silver-haired jounin chuckled to himself. "You see him as a dad, don't you, Naruto?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied. "He stopped making me feel alone. He helped me, even though he scoulded me a lot but he made sure that I would never stop even if I failed," the boy's hand went to his headband. "I got this because of him, and he was proud when he gave me this, like how I saw Shikamaru, Choji, Ino and even Shino's dads with them."

"Family isn't always blood," Kakashi said, remembering his teammates and sensei, as well as Naruto's mother, not to mention Guy, Asuma, Kurenai and Tenzo, who remained sleeping throughout the conversation. "We sometimes have to make it. Even if we have to sacrifices are too much."

Naruto stood slowly and looked up at the starry night, his visible eye bright. "Sasuke is family, Kakashi-sensei, and he deserves to come home to me and Sakura. We just have to show him that while we aren't family by blood, we are by choice."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Yes, Naruto, I hope so too."

Naruto sat again and Kakashi pulled him close, letting the teen fall asleep, allowing him a few hours of peace before they continued. Kakashi thought back over the time he'd been assigned to guard the boy who carried the Kyuubi within him and wishing that he should stop being worried he was cursed and look after him. But he didn't and continued to pretend the boy didn't matter to him because his fate was to see them die. He couldn't help but wonder how deliberate the Third Hokage had been in placing Naruto under his instruction four years ago and still struggle not to want to help the boy who was the precious son of his beloved sensei and wife.

_I'm sorry I failed, Minato-sensei_ , Kakashi thought to himself. _I was never there for your son when he needed me._

_Don't feel sorry,_ Kakashi, his sensei's voice came to him, surprising the jounin for an instant. _Our regret was not planning for the worst that came afterwards._

_But you are still there for him, even now._ Kushina Uzumaki's voice followed. _And you won't let him down again._

_Failure is always the best teacher,_ Kakashi, his father's voice came. _The only regret was just how much you've had to take over these years._

Kakashi chuckled bitterly. _You forgive so easily, all of you,_ he practically growled to the ghosts of the past.

_Your failures are just as much ours,_ Kakashi, Minato called out. _Don't feel you must take the burden alone._

With that, the voices said no more and Kakashi looked to the starry night and wondered if they were right. Sighing, he looked down again at the sleeping boy on his shoulder and couldn't help but feel warmth blossom through him.

_Sixteen years is way too long to be so hollow_ , he thought again. _Maybe it is time to move on._

First thing was first though, get this boy to see the Raikage and try to bring Sasuke Uchiha back. Worry about everything else afterwards.

**Author's Note:**

> We never really got a canon explanation why Kakashi wasn't around when Naruto was growing up and I figured it's because of the poor guy's mental state. After all, in the course of a year, after finally having an epiphany about his shitty behaviour, he lost both teammates (one by his own hand) then his sensei and sensei's wife. The family he chose. Would he have being able to raise Naruto, probably not, but would it have been better than what the kid got, probably.
> 
> Another thing we never got was why the Third Hokage got Naruto to live on his own when he was about seven or eight. Considering how down the toilet Konoha got during the Third's second reign - Hyuga incident, Uchiha massacre, Orochimaru, Danzo's scheming, Asuma's rebellious phase during this time, would it really surprise anyone that he just shipped Naruto off as soon as possible? Still think the Third was a senile old fool because he caused just as much pain for Sasuke but charismatic leaders don't always make the best ones.
> 
> Third thing, no canon explanation why Naruto never appeared to have been violently abused by villagers who just saw him as the Kyuubi. I headcanon that the Council forbid violence against the kid whenever he was out on pain of return a hundred-fold but also prevented people like Mikoto and even other clans and allies to Minato and Kushina from taking Naruto in. Why? Danzo probably hoped to get Naruto for ROOT but lost out to the Third. Poor kid got caught in a pissing match between the two bickering ex-teammates, probably not helped by their other teammates taking Danzo's side more often than not.
> 
> Konoha politics is a bloody mess.
> 
> In another world, had Minato and Kushina lived, Kakashi would've been center to Naruto's life and I'd imagine Sasuke's too. In another world though, the Third would've also wised up to Danzo, Koharu, Homura and Orochimaru and disposed of them quickly. But no one is perfect.
> 
> Anyway, review and kudos please :) I mostly want reviews. Don't hesitate to tell me what your headcanons are for the unexplained parts of the manga :D


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